A bi-weekly e-brief of the DEC Children's Action Network
 
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washington
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
IN
WASHINGTON
★  Ohio became the first state in the U.S. to implement The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, followed by Florida, Nebraska, and Tennessee. Singed into law on December 19th, 2014, the ABLE Act allows individuals with disabilities (who became disabled before the age of 26) to save up to $14,000 a year, or $100,000 in total, in a special account. This money is not taxed upon withdrawal, and beneficiaries of Medicaid or other government programs cannot have this asset used against them for eligibility purposes. Funds can be used to pay for living expenses such as rent, utilities, and medical, among other qualified costs. 





Further, there are several federal bills that were introduced this past spring to expand ABLE, with a focus on increasing the age of disability onset to 46; allowing working individuals with disabilities to contribute their paychecks above and beyond yearly limits; and the ability to rollover the 529 college saving plan of an individual with a disability into an ABLE account. To learn more about state specific ABLE plans, check out: 

★   On July 7th, the Center for the Study of Childcare Employment officially released the Early Childhood Workforce Index. As Education Week described it, "nearly half (46 percent) of early childhood teachers were enrolled in at least one federally funded support program, either the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps; or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). That's compared to 26 percent of the workforce overall and just 13 percent of elementary or middle school teachers." 

★  As a reminder, the U.S. Department of Education is seeking public comment via the Federal Register on proposed regulations regarding the Every Student Achieves Act (ESSA). Public comments must be submitted on or before August 1st. For more information, read the Department of Education's blog on the matter. 

★  Other updates, courtesy of the Council for Exceptional Children:

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:


 
news
DEC
POLICY 
&
ADVOCACY
NEWS
We welcome Peggy Kemp, the new DEC Executive Director! Peggy is a tireless advocate for young children with disabilities, and has served on the DEC Policy and Advocacy Council since its most current inception. Additionally, DEC's national headquarters will move to Washington, D.C.! We will share office space with CEC by the Fall of 2016. Associate Director, Ben Rogers, has already made the move to DC. Peggy Kemp will work from Kansas and will be in DC as needed. DEC will be well positioned to increase our advocacy efforts and work to advance the field alongside CEC.

Also, we continue to seek new members who are interested in supporting our work. New members to the Council will be considered "at-large" and will shadow existing members to ensure a smooth transition. If you want to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the field and within DEC and would like to lend your voice, please complete the application survey so we can match you to opportunities that fit best with your interest, experience, and availability.
Children's Action Network
events
UPCOMING DEC POLICY & ADVOCACY EVENTS
1 - DEC Advocacy Webinar
  • What: Webinar focused on action planning, particularly in regard to State Subdivision Children's Action Network (CAN)
  • When: Monday, July 18th at 11am ET
  • Where: GoToTraining
  • If you missed the training today: Email anlyons@kent.edu for a copy of the recording.
telluswhatyouthink
TELL US
WHAT
YOU
THINK
 
★ Did you to participate in the advocacy webinar on July 18th? 

YES              NO

 
★ What time of day works best for you in terms of webinars or other events? 

MORNING       AFTERNOON     

★ 
If you could submit a policy or advocacy story in bullet format instead of in full, and the Policy & Advocacy Council put it in written format and gave you credit, would you be more likely to share a story for a future eBrief? 

YES               NO              

★
Would you be interested in future webinars that highlight articles from JEI to specific advocacy and policy issues or actions (e.g., bridging the research to practice to policy gap)?  
 
     YES             NO             
UNSURE   
 U
Have an early childhood special education policy or advocacy story you would like to share?  Whether you are a Subdivision leader/member or just an interested DEC member unaffiliated with a Subdivision, contact brittany@dec-sped.org or DEC CAN Coordinator anlyons@kent.edu to share what's happening in your state or Subdivision or just to bring awareness to an important policy or advocacy issue relevant to DEC.  Your story will be shared in a future issue of YES DEC CAN!